Dry Chamber Slug and Snail Barrier

ABSTRACT

A barrier that deters slugs and snails from foliage considered a mollusk food source. The barrier is recycled plastic and manufacturable in multiple lengths and depths. The barrier top-edge length has an inverted “u” shaped chamber serving as the dry staging area (“Chamber”) for the slug and snail deterrent. The entire underside width and length of the Chamber is spanned by mesh (“Mesh”) 
     The Chamber minimizes exposing the deterrent to watering and rainfall moisture. The Chamber can stage a variety of deterrents and baits. The inventor recommends rock salt be the deterrent; the Chamber substantially reduces sodium chloride leaching into the soil. 
     Slugs and snails must navigate the Chamber and Mesh to enter the protected area becoming exposed to rock salt.; the sodium chloride causes water to leave the mollusk body owing to osmosis and leads to complete dehydration.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The Dry Chamber Slug and Snail Barrier is a method to minimize molluskdamage to horticultural and gardening foliage that slugs and snailsconsider a food source.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

The Dry Chamber Slug and Snail Barrier is a barrier to reduce slug andsnail damage to horticultural and gardening foliage that such mollusksconsider a food source. The fundamental distinctions of this Invention,as compared to other barrier inventions in this field, are that 1) ThisInvention provides a dry staging area for both slug and snail deterrentand slug and snail bait and 2) This Invention provides a netted mesh,made of recycled post-consumer plastic, with air holes sufficient insize as to retain the deterrent or bait within the dry chamber andsufficient in size as to expose a mollusk to the bait or deterrentcontained within the Dry Chamber.

The barrier described in Conroy U.S. Pat No. 6,691,454 states, “Achannel member formed at the upper edge holds a length of wickingmaterial. The wicking material can be a compressed flat syntheticsponge.” The documentation to Conroy U.S. Pat No. 6,691,454 furtherstates, “The system of this invention takes advantage of this fact, anddispenses salt though an absorbent porous wicking material. Each time itrains and whenever the garden is watered, the wicking material becomeswet and draws more of the salt to the upper part of the barrier.”

The Dry Chamber Slug and Snail Barrier does not rely on wickingmaterial, of any sort, nor does it rely on rain or garden water toaffect a process. To the contrary, the Dry Chamber Slug and SnailBarrier provides a chamber with an objective of maintaining a dry areafor the deterrent or bait.

Foster U.S. Pat. No. 7,434,788 (“Foster”) does state “a pest deterrentfence is used to deter slugs and snails and similar animals from gainingaccess to gardens.” The “Foster” fence does incorporate conductivesurfaces for an electric current that are separated by a T shapeddielectric dimensioned to prevent moisture from connecting the first andsecond conductive surfaces by promoting beading and dripping.

In the case of Foster, the dielectric is dimensioned to promote beadingand dripping. The purpose is to prevent moisture from connecting thefirst and second conductive surfaces.

The Dry Chamber Slug and Snail Barrier does contain a water beadingdesign along the entire length of the lower, outer edge of the DryChamber. Entirely unlike the “Foster” fence, however, the sole purposefor this beading design is to substantially enhance the Chamber'sability to serve as a dry staging area for the deterrent or bait; itdoes not prevent moisture from connecting separate conductive surfaces.

A summary statement as to the distinction between the Dry Chamber Slugand Snail Barrier beading function and the “Foster” fence beadingfunction is: Two entirely different beading designs, two entirelydifferent beading objectives.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

A barrier that deters slugs and snails from damaging foliage considereda mollusk food source. The barrier is made entirely of post-consumerrecycled plastic in multiple lengths, thicknesses, and depths. Along theentire top edge of the barrier exists an inverted “u” shaped chamberthat serves as the dry staging area for the slug and snail deterrent orbait. The underside of the Dry Chamber is made of plastic netted mesh.

Notwithstanding the fact that some types of existing snail and slug baitare produced in a fashion to reduce such bait from breaking down orbecoming saturated from garden watering or from rainfall the life ofslug and snail bait is, nonetheless, shortened by regular watering.

The dry staging area of the Dry Chamber Slug and Snail Barriersubstantially enhances the life of such bait by reducing exposure togarden watering, horticultural watering, or rainfall.

It is an established fact that, owing to osmosis, contact with sodiumchloride does directly lead to dehydration of both slugs and snails.

With respect to sodium chloride as a deterrent—history has establishedan additional fact that soil salinity does impact plant growth, to anegative effect, when levels of salinity exceed certain bounds. Sodiumchloride leaching into the soil is exacerbated when salt, in any form,within a garden or horticultural environment is exposed to watering orto rainfall.

For this reason, it generally is held that sodium chloride, in the formof salt, should not be used as a deterrent for garden or horticulturalmollusks.

In a trial case that the Inventor conducted during the summer of 2010,the rock salt contained within a mocked-up dry chamber was still inplace, virtually untouched by moisture, a month after being placed intothe Inventor's garden.

Furthermore, the broad leaf hosta plants within the protected areasuffered relatively little to no mollusk damage compared to the sametypes of plants within the same garden and not within a protected area.Incidentally, it also is an established fact the hosta plants are ahighly-desired-by-mollusk food source.

OBJECTS AND ADVANTAGES

An object of this Invention is to create a physical barrier that detersslugs and snails from damaging foliage considered a mollusk food source.

Another object of this invention is to create a slug and snail barrierthat can use over-the-counter rock salt as a deterrent and to provide adry staging chamber for such rock salt that will substantially reducethe risk of sodium chloride leaching into the gardening or horticulturalsoil.

An additional object of this invention is to create a dry staging areathat will accommodate the several types of slug and snail bait anddeterrents presently available on the market.

A principle advantage of this invention is that it provides a method touse over-the-counter rock salt as the mollusk deterrent which, as aresult of the Dry Chamber and when properly used, will not noticeablyincrease the soil salinity in its state prior to use of this invention.

Another advantage of this invention is that it presents an option to usehousehold-pet friendly and over-the-counter rock salt as a deterrent.Some, not all, existing slug and snail baits present the possibility ofharm occurring to a household pet through oral consumption; rock saltdeterrent can entirely eliminate this particular possibility.

An additional advantage is the extremely low cost of over-the-counterrock salt as compared to most slug and snail deterrents available on themarket.

Another advantage is that this invention also is able to extend theuseful life of deterrents and baits available on the market.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Exhibit A

This Exhibit A shows a frontal view of the Dry Chamber Slug and SnailBarrier and a side view of the Dry Chamber

-   -   NOTE 1: This drawing reflects only one size option. The Barrier        size is adaptable based on the subject need. The Barrier will        always include a Dry Chamber, regardless of the Barrier size.    -   NOTE 2: The Dry Chamber is able to accommodate a variety of        deterrents or baits. All drawings within this specification        reflect over-the-counter rock salt as the deterrent.

The footnotes on Exhibit A refer to the following:

-   -   a. Exterior =Side facing outward and away from protected plants        or protected area.    -   b. Rock salt storage and staging chamber (the “Dry Chamber”)        runs the length of the Barrier. In this drawing, the width of        Dry Chamber, from inside wall to inside wall, is ½″. The Mesh,        however, contains 1 inch of surface width space. Each end of the        Dry Chamber carries a snap-on cap (not pictured) to retain rock        salt within the Dry Chamber.    -   c. 100% of the Barrier, including the entire Dry Chamber and        Mesh, is made of post-consumer recycled plastic. The Barrier In        this drawing maintains a uniform thickness of ⅛″

Exhibit B

This Exhibit B shows a view of the Mesh that is located at the bottom ofand runs the entire length of the Dry Chamber.

The Mesh spans both the width and the entire length of the under part ofthe Dry Chamber. The Mesh and all parts of the Barrier are produced as asingle molded unit. Aside from the snap-on caps (not pictured) at bothends of the Chamber, the Barrier contains no moving parts.

The Dry Chamber and Mesh, combined:

-   -   Provide a dry staging area for slug and snail deterrent or bait    -   Substantially reduce the risk of sodium chloride leaching into        gardening or horticultural soil from the Dry Chamber should rock        salt serve as the deterrent.

The Mesh:

-   -   Serves as the length-wise section of the Barrier that each slug        and snail must navigate to gain entrance into the protected        gardening or horticultural area. The Mesh of a Dry Chamber        adequately filled with rock salt will expose the mollusk to some        level of sodium chloride. Such exposure will cause the water to        leave the mollusk body owing to osmosis; sufficient exposure        will lead to complete dehydration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The Dry Chamber Slug and Snail Barrier creates a barrier that detersslugs and snails from damaging foliage—gardening orhorticultural—considered a mollusk food source.

The Dry Chamber Slug and Snail Barrier is made entirely of post-consumerrecycled plastic and may be manufactured into multiple lengths,thicknesses, and depths of an earth-tone color.

With this said, the drawings on Exhibits A and B, however, reflect theembodiment of this invention only within a home gardening environment.

Exhibits A and B reflect a twelve-inch section of barrier. Theembodiment of this invention for either horticultural use of homegardening use envisions multiple sections being aligned to encircle thearea to be protected from slugs and snails.

Not pictured in the drawings are plastic caps that will hold separatelengths of pieces of the barrier together.

Additionally, Exhibits A and B reflect only a straight section ofbarrier. To effectively accommodate the bends and curves that thebarrier will need to achieve in order to create an entire barrier aroundthe selected portions of a garden, the Dry Chamber Slug and SnailBarrier also will be pre-cast with appropriate curvature.

Notwithstanding that the Dry Chamber is capable of staging a variety ofdeterrents and baits, for either gardening or horticultural use, theembodiment of this Invention within the home gardening environment—asdrawn in Exhibits A and B—contemplates standard, over-the-counter rocksalt being used as the deterrent.

Although not reflected in either Exhibits A or B, plastic plugs locatedat either end of the Dry Chamber are removed so that the rock salt (orany other bait or deterrent) may be simply poured in to the Dry Chamber.The plug is then repositioned on the end of the barrier from which itwas removed.

Additionally, the Dry Chamber is molded in a fashion to minimizeexposing the rock salt (or any other bait or deterrent) to moisture suchas that from garden watering, horticultural watering and from rain; thisdesign extends the life of the rock salt (or any other bait ordeterrent) and substantially reduces sodium chloride leaching into thegarden soil. Soil salinity may be detrimental to gardening foliage.

Slugs and snails must navigate the mesh located at the bottom of the DryChamber to enter into the protected area thus becoming exposed to sodiumchloride in the form of rock salt. Such contact will cause water toleave the mollusk body owing to osmosis and likely would lead tocomplete dehydration. At a minimum, the mollusk will be deterred fromattempting to navigate the Mesh.

What is claimed is:
 1. The Dry Chamber Slug and Snail Barrier is specifically designed to practically eliminate exposing either the slug and snail deterrent or slug and snail bait resident within the Dry Chamber to moisture from garden watering, horticultural watering or from rainfall. Constituent to and an integral part of the Dry Chamber is a water beading design along the entire length of the lower, outer edge of the Dry Chamber. This bead design is a fundamental component to the Chamber's ability to practically eliminate exposing the deterrent or bait to moisture. Also constituent to and an integral part of the Dry Chamber is the mesh located at the bottom of and the entire length of the Dry Chamber. The air wholes located within the netting aspect of the mesh are appropriate in size as to retain the deterrent or bait within the Dry Chamber while also being sufficient in size to expose slugs and snails to the deterrent or bait as such mollusks attempt to navigate the barrier and the mesh.
 2. In the case of rock salt deterrent, the Dry Chamber will substantially reduce sodium chloride within the Dry Chamber from leaching into soil.
 3. Rock salt is not the exclusive deterrent that is useable within the Dry Chamber. Additionally, the Dry Chamber can serve as a staging area for multiple types of slug or snail bait. 